Get the FUEL CD Online

One of the best Christmas Gift ideas for this year is KBM's FUEL devotional CD called, "All Or Nothing." The CD is a unique discipleship tool for anyone on your Christmas list.

FUEL features KBM speakers condensing powerful teaching into a 3-4 minute tracks, and each speakers spoken words are scored to original, cutting edge music. They are great listening for the morning commute, on your iPod, or to share in a small group.

"All Or Nothing" is the theme, and is the first of an entire line of FUEL CD's coming from the KBM resource department. I am especially proud that my brother Joe is the producer and wrote and performs all the music (so you know it will rock).

Trust me, you will not be disappointed and will want to get Vol 2 & 3 which are coming soon. Follow the link below to get yours before Christmas, and tell them I sent you. http://store.kbm.org/

Sermon-Casts

In an effort to better serve you and fuel your spiritual journey, the Tabernacle sermons are now available online each week. Technology can be such an awesome tool, and now you can download Sunday's sermon to a CD or listen in streaming audio. We also have a backlog of messages under the heading "more audio," and plan on having them up on iTunes by January: http://www.buckleychurch.com .

Also, please let us know what God is doing in your life and on your journey through this ministry. You can email us at johnv@buckleychurch.com .

MOTORCYCLE THERAPY

Walking out of church last week, I noticed my friend strapping on his helmet to ride home on his motorcycle. It was a big bike and it was a beautiful day, and my eyes must have betrayed some kind of longing that I didn't know was even there. I had just come off a tough work week , and a grueling morning of preaching three services in a row, so I had this kind of thousand yard stare that preachers get when they have preached their guts out, and can't remember their own name. My wife was walking beside me, and must have noticed my glazed eyes locking on to the shiny chrome.

Suddenly my wife was speaking and asking my friend to take me away on a bike trip, to get me out of her hair. What is happening? My friend and I both responded incredulously, "really?" I couldn't believe it - this is the same lovely woman who informed that I was free to get a motorcycle whenever I was ready to let some other man walk my daughters down the aisle on their wedding days. For a moment I suspected she was trying to collect early on our life insurance, thought better of it, and realized that she was looking out for me. I asked her if she was sure it was okay to blow an entire Monday pretending I was a greaser from some 50's movie, tooling around Northern Michigan on a borrowed motorcycle. "It's therapy," was her response. "You need some therapy."

Therapy started the next morning. We did 175 miles in perfect weather and at the peak of Michigan's turning leaves. We stopped to eat and chat a couple of times, but for the most part it was just perfect, blissful solitude, set to the soothing bass of the 1800 cc's underneath me. The road seemed endless, and I could have rode for 300 miles, just feeling alive again. I didn't think a whole lot - I must be honest. I was too tired. I just focused on being alive, admiring God's creation, trying not to lay that big bike down at intersections, and mastering the subtle wave that bikers use to acknowledge one another when they pass. 

I guess I had never really noticed that before, the biker wave. I had just got my permit that morning, and yet here I was an "insider," exchanging waves like I belonged to some elite club, from total strangers who I will never meet. And yet without fail, every passing biker dropped a hand down in acknowledgment. The only thing we had in common was risking life and limb to feel the wind in our faces, drown out the world for a while, and experience therapy on two wheels on the open road. But that bond was deeply communal - a shared experience that compelled me towards a sense of belonging.

I did pray a little bit. I found my myself whispering thanks to God for colors, for the lake flying by to my left, for wind, for my wife, and for the sense of belonging. I thanked God that He was God, for the blessings He's poured out on me and my family, and that I get to live this life and work for Him. Most of all I thanked God for the feeling of being alive again, and for the moments spent on that bike, withdrawn from the world, away from the stress, the cell phone, and things that pull us all in every direction. 

It was therapy all right - a day spent with God on the open road. I found myself smiling for no reason at all, and strangely enough - my eye stopped twitching. Maybe this is what the Gospel writers meant when they said that often Jesus withdrew to be alone and pray. I don't think he was on a motorcycle out in the desert back then, but he was certainly biking with me last Monday. 

Later that night, after thanking my friend for the gift of that ride, I returned home to my family still smiling. I also began surfing the web for used motorcycles. 

Drinking Toilet Water

As I travel across the country, I have a lot of frank off-stage conversations with Christians who are struggling with lust, porn, and illicit sex. We live in a culture that practically worships sex, and we're bombarded daily with images and temptation to all manner of perversions. The worst part it seems, is that many Christians who struggle in this area do so in silence, alone in their bondage and shame.

Christ died to set us free - free from sin, shame, and from the perversions of the enemy. Furthermore, we are commanded in Ephesians 5:3 that "among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality..." Jesus called himself living water - and seeking to quench our thirst through sexual sin is like drinking a tall glass of toilet water.

That phrase also happens to be the title of Chapter 1 in a great new e-book entitled, PORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN, by Mark Driscoll (www.theresurgence.com). It is a short read, almost a pamphlet, it's FREE, and very direct. In fact some might find it offensive. However for those not afraid, remember that Jesus said that the "kingdom of God is advancing forcefully, and forceful men laid hold of it."

Tapping Out

Ultimate fighting has become all the rage among many young men in America. In its various forms, ultimate fighting pits 2 men in a ring who just pound each other to bloody pulps. The victor is usually determined when one of the fighters is either knocked unconscious, or "taps out" in submission to his opponent.

Tapping out is when the fighter - many times about to black out in a choke hold - smacks his hand on the canvas several times. Hence the term "tapping out." The referee stops the fight immediately and declares the other man the victor. Many fighters vow to never "tap out," a humiliating way to lose. Instead, they allow their bodies to be broken, bloodied, or even risk death to avoid submission.

For the Christian, there is only one way to approach God - in utter and complete submission. Many people try to follow Jesus, but paradoxically never "tap out" to his Lordship over their everyday lives. This makes no sense - to acknowledge Jesus as God, to supposedly give your life to Him, to claim to worship Him, but never "tap out" in every area of your heart.

I have seen this in my own life and in the lives of many who come to my church. We worship God on Sunday, hail him as King, but don't really submit the rest of our lives to him Monday through Saturday. Sometimes our marriages, relationships, habits, attitudes and sin behaviors look exactly like those who don't follow Jesus. This is not what Jesus meant His worshippers to look like.

The true worshippers God is looking for are those who worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The integrity of a life lived in worship 24/7 is what is at stake here. Scriptures teach us that our spiritual act of worship is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), and to submit our lives to God (James 4:7). Worship is larger than a private or corporate event, more than a style of music. Worship is the submission of a life fully to God.

I don't understand why I sometimes act as if I could actully survive in the ring with God. There can be only one response in that showdown - total and complete submission. God wants every area of my life, and my job is to surrender. To be a true worshipper of God, a follower of Jesus, tapping out daily is the only way to live. I want to live a life marked by the worship of God , 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Don't miss the Fall Sermon series at the Tabernacle: WORSHIP 24/7

Available on streaming audio, and soon as a weekly podcast at: www.buckleychurch.org

UNPLUGGED

The worst-case scenario happened for a busy man in 2008...all my computers crashed.

First, my laptop started making a strange grinding noise - like an old truck with a bad fan belt. Shortly afterwards, the screen went black. All black. No power, no response, just gone. The Geek Squad kid at Best Buy announced that because it's a 5 year old laptop, I would spend more money to repair it then replace it with a new one. Are you kidding me geek squad kid?! You look like you're barely 5 years old yourself.

The home computer was next. It didn't so much crash as I crashed it. A virus sent porno pics to the machine my wife and kids use - some kind of Facebook bug. Great, my oldest kid is now scarred for life, so I pulled the plug on that one. Since it's about a 9-year old Dell, I didn't even bother asking 5-year old Geek squad kid. He'd probably advise me to shoot it.

So for the last 4 weeks I have been pretty much computer free. No information super-highway, no blogs, news updates, surfing, or networking. Sure, I checked a few emails once a week on my assistant's computer, but other than that? I've been unplugged. Furthermore, our family has moved to a new house across town, so we've been without cable too! Imagine that, no web, no cable, the end of the world could happen, and we would be up here in the great white north, oblivious to the alien invasion - and the latest on Brad & Angelina.

Truthfully, it's been awesome. Instead of feeling out of the loop, out of the know, or in the dark, I have felt strangely free. I seem to have more time on my hands (which is good because we're still unpacking boxes). I have discovered that although I am unplugged, the world is still turning, and there is still life on the planet. It seems that I have more time to talk and listen to God, because I am not drowning my attention on my 3 email accounts, Facebook, etc.

Jesus modeled a life where he withdrew often to be alone with God and pray. He didn't have an Iphone, a laptop, and a Myspace to help him do ministry. However, Jesus did have a social network (disciples, the crowds) that he frequently withdrew from to be alone with His heavenly Father. I find it interesting that He also said that he came to set us free.

Jesus wants to free me from the tyranny of the urgent. He wants my attention, and refuses to compete with all the technology I have at my disposal. Technology that is supposed to free us but instead makes us more accessible, and more enslaved to busyness and interruptions. God wants me to unplug from the world and plug in to Him.

So now I am shopping for a computer replacenment, but am hanging on to what I've learned about my time being "unplugged." My goal is to make it a tool that I use, not a machine that owns me.

KAKA

The final whistle blew and the stadium roared. The players piled on each other, celebrating the culmination of everything they had worked for. All the sweat, the years of training and discipline, the grueling practices, the never-ending season, and now their perseverence had paid off. Victory was theirs, and most lost themselves in the elation of the moment.

Team sponsors toasted their commercial success in VIP booths, the team owners accepted the praise of other officials, the coaches congratulated one another, and the fans were cheering deliriously. TV announcers labored to capture the importance of the historic moment in words, while behind them, the stadium was a scene of utter euphoric pandemonium. The field itself was being flooded with people.

But in the midst of the celebrations, a lone, peaceful figure stood out. The cameras zoomed in on a single player kneeling alone apart from the rest. His jersey was off, his face and hands lifted towards heaven, his eyes were closed and his lips were moving. And there, blazoned across his undershirt, was a message for all the global TV audience to see...


The player was Kaka, the Brazilian striker who plays professionally for AC Milan and Italy. The moment was the world Club Championship. Kaka is one of the most recognizable people on the planet. Yes, even more famous than Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Paris Hilton. Kaka is an incredible soccer player, he scores brilliant goals, is handsome, articulate, and is paid millions. Kaka is one of the best players on the best soccer team in the world. But more importantly, Kaka is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ.

More than anyone else, Kaka's goals had powered Milan to this world championship. By the world's standards, the glory of this moment belonged to him. And yet there he was - paying homage to his true master and king, to God almighty, to Jesus, his savior and Lord. This was no bland Oprah-gospel spirituality, or tip of the hat to a nameless force that could be God, the tooth-fairy, or Karma. Kaka named Jesus specifically.

The shirt said: I BELONG TO JESUS.

Translation: JESUS OWNS ME.

Kaka's testimony is profound because his faith is well-known. He goes to church, studies the Bible, has a pastor, loves worship music and is committed to living out his faith on and off the field. Kaka has taken heat for it too. He's been asked to tone it down, while others have mocked him and his commitment to Jesus.

You see sprituality or the search for it is very cool with the media and the general public. But actually finding something or someone at the end of that search, namely faith in Jesus Christ - is very uncool. But through it all Kaka simply puts the ball in the back of the net, pulls up his jersy and reveals his true colors over and over: I BELONG TO JESUS.

I am thankful for that moment from Kaka, because I belong to Jesus too. There is something incredibly freeing in coming to that conclusion. Jesus is in charge of every aspect of my life. No more wringing my hands trying to figure out what to do. Jesus is in charge. No more worrying about the future, or my career, or retirement. Jesus owns me so it's His problem, His plan. My life is His. God can do with me what he wants. If I live - I live for Jesus. If I die - I die for Jesus. Everything I am, everything I have, every talent, my time, my treasure - they all belong to Jesus.

Scripture says that He bought me with a price (I Corinthians 6:20), therefore my life is not my own. I BELONG TO JESUS is profound peace in the middle of a storm.

It is also peace in the middle of a stadium.